They had lived together for a week now, and despite a few hiccups it was a pretty easy transition for them both. Adam was still a slob and Kim was still an obsessive compulsive neat freak and she was doing her best to not jump all over Adam for the tiniest of messes.
They agreed he'd keep his bedroom door shut so she wouldn't have to look at the disaster that was his bedroom. The floor was littered with his dirty clothes, his unopened mail, and the occasional empty water bottle. He rarely made his bed which was a fact that disturbed Kim to no end and she was almost certain that it was something only serial killers did.
Adam was doing his best to be neater in their communal areas, which was trying when it came to the kitchen, he was the worst when it came to dirty dishes. He'd just toss it in the sink and only deal with it when they ran out of clean dishes.
It was definitely a learning process and they were both doing their best to make it work, Kim realized she went overboard with the cleaning and Adam knew he needed to help out more and not sit around and wait for Kim to do it. If the sink was full of dirty dishes he either needed to wash them or load them in the dishwasher. Kim resisted the urge to wash any dirty dishes the second they hit the sink, it wouldn't hurt anyone to leave a coffee mug or a dirty bowl in the sink for a little while.
They were both at opposite ends of the spectrum and they were working on meeting in the middle and it was going well.
Kim was now focused on getting her mother and Adam's father together, they would be sharing a grandchild, Kim wanted them to know each other before the baby was born. She knew it wasn't going to be an easy feat, she knew her mother had doubts as did Adam's father. She wanted to prove them both wrong, show them that she and Adam could do this.
She was putting a fair bit of pressure on Adam to get his father to come over for dinner and Adam wasn't responding in the way she wanted.
"Adam?" Kim knocked on his bedroom door, it was slightly ajar but knocked anyway. She peeked around the door and saw him stretched out on the bed laying on his stomach. Her eyes were drawn to his ass. She always liked how he looked in jeans and the pair he had one fit him well, she felt all the blood rush to her cheeks, she cleared her throat and called his name again, "Adam?" It was then she noticed he was wearing earbuds, she went in and shook his shoulder lightly.
Adam rolled over, he ripped his earbuds out, "What's wrong? Is it the baby, are you okay?" He was clearly a bit panicked.
"No. I'm fine. I was just wondering if you talked to your dad. If you asked him about dinner." Kim was desperate for Bob's approval, Adam didn't seem to care on way or the other but she wanted it.
Adam sat up and ran his hands over his face, "I didn't. I'm sorry." He had meant to talk to him about it but it kept slipping his mind, "I'll ask him tonight."
"What's tonight?" Kim asked him. They were in an odd place, relationship wise she knew Adam wanted more than just friends and co-parents but she wasn't ready for anything more than friends. They didn't keep the other apprised of their plans, and outside of the baby they definitely lived two separate lives.
"I'm meeting him for a few beers." Adam explained, "You don't mind right?"
"No. Of course not." Kim replied, "I just didn't know. Can you talk to him please? I want to have him over, I want to get any awkwardness between the three of us out before the baby is born. I also would like it if he could meet my mom."
"I will talk to him, but Kim, I can't promise you he will come over. He's weird that way. It's nothing personal, it's just the way he is."
"Ask him. Please? For me." She was grabbed his hand, "I want him in our baby's life." She wanted her baby to have plenty of family in its life.
"He will be, Kim. It's just dinners and shit like that, it's not in his wheelhouse. He's more of come hang out and leave before dinner kind of guy." He tossed his earbuds on the nightstand, "I'm gonna jump in the shower. I'm meeting my pops in an hour. You're cool with me going right?" It was kind of weird, did he need to ask for her permission? Probably not but it felt like the thing to do.
"You don't need to ask, Adam. You're a big boy." Kim went to the doorway, "Just be careful okay?"
Adam was meeting his father at some hole in the wall bar in Canaryville, it was his Pop's stomping grounds and his Pops was the only reason he would step foot in the place. They met up at least twice a month but Adam could see that changing his Pops was always on his case about one thing or another and it was getting old.
Bob Ruzek was a good man but he was never all in when it came to his very brief marriage to Adam's mother but he did the best he could when it came to raising Adam. He and his ex seemed incapable of Co-parenting and had serious doubts that Adam and Kim could do it.
Bob was already two drinks when Adam showed up, "Took you long enough. I was starting think I'd been stood up." He laughed heartily before enveloping his son in a bear hug, "How's life on the other side of the tracks?"
"It's good. Work is crazy as always. Kim's good. The baby is growing as it should." Adam couldn't keep the smile off his face when he spoke of his family. "What about you?"
"All good on my end. Inching closer and closer to retirement. Trying to not get my old ass killed." He was just a few months away from retirement and was anxious to be done with it. He wasn't sure what he was going to do once he hung up his badge but he was ready for it to be over. A career on patrol had been rough on his body, his joints ached and he was constantly popping aspirins to help with the pain, winter was the worst.
"Solid plan, Pops." Adam didn't want to even think about losing his father to the job, he was all to aware of the risks that their chosen profession had, he had those same fears. He was terrified of being killed on the job and not being around for Kim and the baby. A little bit of fear was always a good thing but if he wasn't careful, he could lose himself in it and that's when accidents happened. He needed to keep his fears in check and do what he had been trained to do, and trust his instincts and his team and he'd be fine.
"You really moved in with her, huh?" Bob still couldn't wrap his head around it, "Son, an ex is usually an ex for a reason. I'm not sure why you keep going back to her." He didn't have anything against Kim, she was a nice girl but seemed a bit finicky when it came to Adam.
"Really dad?" Adam groaned, "It was complicated. I made mistakes, so did Kim but we have worked through all of that. I know it's not ideal but it's happening. I would really appreciate your support. Kim and I are excited for this baby, your grandchild. I love this kid so much it physically hurts."
"Woah!" He held his hand up, "I support you Adam. I just think that you and Kim living together is a mistake." He saw a look of anger flit across Adam's face, he was doing a shit job of explaining himself, "Adam, I don't want to see you hurt, I'm not an idiot. I know you still love Kim. I'm worried about you. If you think this is best for you, then you've got my support. I just think that you can be there for your baby and not live with Kim."
"I don't want that dad. I don't want to be a part time dad, I grew up in two house I don't want that for my kid."
"You turned out fine." Bob interrupted his son.
Adam knew he had hit a nerve, "It's not like that dad. You did the best you could, I just want better for my kid. Just like you wanted me to grow up and in a situation that was better than what you grew up in. You did that for me, and I want to do that for my kid. You know?"
"Fair enough." Bob held his hands up, "I still want the best for you, you may be a grown ass man with a baby on the way but you're my baby boy. You'll always be my boy. I'm damn proud of you. If this is what you want and what you think is best than you've got my blessing. Not that you need it."
"Thank you." Adam smiled, "It means a lot more than you know." He finished what was left of his beer, "Ah, Kim wants you to come over for dinner. She wants you to meet her mother. Kim thinks you guys should know each other before the baby is born."
"Tell me when and where and I'll be there." Bob paid their tab, "It's not my thing but I'll do it for you. I want it to work out for you and Kim, but I don't want you to have your heart broken either."
"My heart is in good hands Pops. We've both changed, I'm not worried."
"Good to know." Bob hugged him once more, "Just let me know when to show up and I'll be there."
Adam wasn't surprised to see Kim sprawled out on the living room sofa watching television when he walked in the house, "Hey" she had taken to waiting up for him to come home wether it be from work or hanging out with Kevin. "How was it?"
"Good." Adam sat next to her, "What're you watching?"
"Trashy reality tv." She muted the sound, "Did you ask him about dinner?" She knew she was being a bit of a nag about it but it was important to her that their parents met each other.
"I did." Adam replied, he left out the fact that his dad had some reservations about their living arrangement, there was no point in telling her and he didn't want to plant any seeds of doubt in her head or in his own for that matter. He feared that discussing it at length would do just that, it would have them both over analyzing and second guessing everything, "He said to let him know when and where and he'd be there. He knows you want him to meet your mother, he said he'd meet her."
Kim clapped her hands together, "Fantastic news. I will start planning it. I'll need to talk to my mom and see when she can make the drive down. Thank you Adam."
"Oh, don't thank me yet. My dad is kind of rough around the edges, I'm not sure how your mother will receive him." Adam hadn't endeared himself to Kim's mother and he was certain his father wouldn't fare much better.
"It'll be fine. I know what my mother is like." Kim knew her mother had ridiculously high standards and often fell short her mother's expectations, "I just want them to know each other and maybe have a cordial relationship. That's all. I appreciate you asking him. I think it will be really good for the baby."
Adam rested his hand on her stomach, "I'd do anything for our baby."
Kim covered his hand with her own, "I know you will, Adam."